


Chosen right

by t_dreams



Category: One Piece
Genre: Character Study, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, M/M, Nakama, Nakamaship, No Smut, Original Character(s), Trauma, supportive boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 14:07:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18477802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dreams/pseuds/t_dreams
Summary: At first glance, it looked like this guy was certifiably insane (which, yes, that makes sense).  What the swordsman had just done was the closest thing to giving his life and putting his soul into the straw hat’s hands. He was trusting him to never interfere with his dream, to always support it alongside his. It was a promise, an oath. And Sanji understood the importance of promises, and he thought that those two definitely did too.





	Chosen right

**Author's Note:**

> Hello:) I just felt like writing something like this on a whim. The Zoro/Luffy dynamic is a pretty curious and interesting thing and I wanted to do it from Sanji's perspective. It DOES NOT follow canon. Not completely anyway. The bigger details are the same, but I changed a couple of things just to build on my ideas.
> 
> Thanks for checking this out!!!

Sanji left the Baratie knowing damn well he might just die following this straw hat guy. But after seeing him beat Don Krieg to a pulp, Sanji started entertaining the idea of following the teen to achieve his frankly ridiculous goal.

 

Yet, who was he to judge, he held a dream that was almost even more unattainable (unattainable was what he thought at the time. These days, Pirate King is pretty much set in stone) then Luffy’s. Finding the All Blue was a goal born out of fiction. He’s heard of four separate accounts of the All Blue. Pirate King had and has existed so, Luffy isn’t so far off. 

 

Oh, and the other thing that sealed the deal for him was that moment between the straw hat boy and the green haired swordsman. After fighting  Mihawk, the ruthless hawk-eyed swordsman. The green guy had blood pouring out of… just about everywhere Sanji could see. Sanji watched in slight horror as a practically playful smirk worked its way onto his dumb face when he turned to face his unimaginably strong opponent, exposing his chest to the enemy. 

 

_ A wound on one’s back is the shame of a swordsman.  _

 

Sanji distinctly remembered thinking: “This guy is absolutely fucking bat shit crazy.” But, he respected that, no matter how insane, no matter how ridiculous.

 

The way he unabashedly knelt down, chest cut open with rivulets of blood flowing freely down his front, yelling at the top of his lungs, vowing to never lose again. Vowing to stay loyal and to never disappoint  _ his  _ Sencho. Because Zoro does not kneel for anyone, he stands tall and fucks over anyone who touches  _ his  _ Sencho. 

 

(He’s pretty sure if Zoro were ever accosted to be a pirate with anyone else, he wouldn’t have pursued it. If it wasn’t for this particular captain, he wouldn’t have changed his title from Pirate Hunter to Pirate. )

 

Looking around him, he saw the looks of disbelief among his fellow chefs on the Baratie. 

 

They didn’t see, they didn’t understand.

 

At first glance, it looked like this guy was certifiably insane (which, yes, that makes sense).  What the swordsman had just done was the closest thing to giving his life and putting his soul into the straw hat’s hands. He was trusting him to never interfere with his dream, to always support it alongside his. It was a promise, an oath. And Sanji understood the importance of promises, and he thought that those two definitely did too. 

 

It was a blood oath if Sanji’s ever seen on, and he has to  _ begrudgingly  _ tip his hat to the guy. Even as irritating as he’s found him to be later. 

 

(He found himself making his own promise walking alongside Mugiwara later on that day) 

 

And then there was Arlong Park. 

 

Luffy decided, much to everyone’s dismay, to crash straight into the island, hanging on for dear life. After that, Luffy practically strangled the other guy for bad-mouthing this Nami, he’s never met. 

 

Fiercely protective, he noted. He believed in people, not only that, he believed in the people he’s chosen and once he’s made up his mind, nothing could change it. 

 

From what he’s heard of, she’s a fiery orange-haired beauty who definitely  _ is  _ going to get hurt if they don’t do anything. And what kind of gentleman would he be if he refused to help? 

 

The way Luffy talked about her or talked about saving her was as if the rescue was written in stone. The way his brow creased in determination and stubbornness because he would move mountains with the flick of his wrist if he really had to. That sealed the deal for Sanji. 

 

Now, Luffy genuinely mad and furious was a sight to behold. The two other dudes coward behind a tree at the dark menacing glare the young man sent them. It was fascinating to see the switch, from playful to dangerous. 

 

Later on, he ended up stuck with the moss head. He found that he was even more irritating than the first time he met him. As they sat waiting for Luffy, the idiot had the audacity to insult his Nami-swan, but before he could berate him anymore the swordsman’s ears perked up and he got up instantly, one hand on his swords, the other resting at his side. His body turned toward the general direction of Luffy. 

 

“Let’s go.” 

 

Sanji was about to protest. When did he get the right to boss him around? But, before he could retort, he saw Luffy placing his precious straw hat on the top of Nami’s head. Tears rolling readily down her cheeks as he yelled at the top of his lungs. “Of course we will!” 

 

Another promise. Another oath.  _ Of course _ , they would help her, he’d never deny helping his nakama. 

 

And the reality of it was…. There was never a single doubt indicating that they would do otherwise.

 

And that was that.

 

He didn’t ask how the moss head knew the decision was made, how he knew it was time to go. (The decision was made way back on the Baratie, but this time Nami was here, so it was made official?) He’s pretty sure if he were to ask, the answer would be open-ended and useless, so Sanji didn’t bother. To Zoro, it really was that simple. 

 

________________________________

Arlong Park was something. 

 

He saw Arlong throw Luffy straight into the ocean. At first, he thought nothing of it, Luffy’d just break through the concrete and swim back to the surface. That was until he turned around and saw the look of absolute horror on Zoro’s face. He’d have gone purple if it wasn’t for the apparent loss of blood already happening. 

 

“Luffy… he can’t swim, because of the devil’s fruit. The users can’t swim.” Zoro looked like he’d had an intense bout of food poisoning and Sanji… well, Sanji wasn’t doing so well either.

 

The cook looked around at the chaos and the debris surrounding them, and then took one look at the swordsman’s shuddering form. 

 

The moss head stood up on shaky legs, sweat beading down his forehead and his neck, veins popping from the strain of standing up. 

 

“30 seconds.” 

 

“It’s all I need.” Sanji doesn’t mention the fact that the idiot was ready to dive right into the ocean, bleeding to death and on the verge of unconsciousness. Sanji had yelled at him; what an idiot. But after the declaration following his defeat to Mihawk, he wasn’t entirely surprised by the apparent need to sacrifice himself for his captain either. Sanji was losing it too, his heart thumping hard against his ribcage, breaths coming out ragged. Everything ached and his shins hurt. 

 

Zoro turned around and started his ruthless attacks, growling under his breath and letting out this aura of darkness Sanji had never seen before. 

 

He dove into the water, a cool balm against his wounds until they stung while exposed to the salt water.  He broke the concrete crowding Luffy’s feet to finally get his captain’s body to surface. 

 

The look of utter relief on Zoro’s face was hilarious until exhaustion started to settle through. 

 

Oh and… he’s being chocked by Arlong. 

 

He turned around to check over the Captain, but he’d already launched himself over the wall and “traded” places with the moss head. Sanji did NOT pity the position Luffy put him in.

 

Sanji watched from the corner of his as his Captain received punch after punch. He watched as his captain stood back up and landed a deathly blow after blow that would kill any human in an instant. Every single time Arlong would stand back up and through something new at Luffy.  But Sanji had faith, so he sat down on a gritty cement block, took a long drag of a cigarette he acquired from a police officer, and proceeded to enjoy the show. 

  
  


\-----------------------------------------

A few days later, the three of them were patched up. Nami had named them the Monster Trio, which he admitted was a pretty damn good epithet. 

 

During those few days, he also spent his time observing the other two-thirds of the Trio. The steady give and take of their friendship, relationship… partnership.

 

It was… interesting. And confounding. 

 

Luffy, he found, really wasn’t as dumb as he looked. Although he was an idiot for a lot of things,  _ people _ wasn’t one of them. He loved to play dumb, he loved to screw with people. It seemed that Sanji and the moss head were the only ones to have figured this out. The two of them found it hilarious, but they were both conscious enough about this that they would warn Luffy when he had taken it too far. 

 

Because Nami was the easiest target and Luffy was always able to press her buttons in all the right places.  In fact, Sanji found that Luffy just had this knack for knowing when someone needed something or didn’t need something. Luffy seemed to know what kind of people he needed, and what was even stranger, Sanji noticed, was the people Luffy needed always showed up along the way. And not only that, these crewmembers, strewn along a timeline of adventures and battles, needed  _ Luffy  _ as much as Luffy needed them. 

  
  
  


With himself, Sanji didn’t even realize that Luffy had given him exactly what he needed on a silver platter until much, much later. Sanji was pretty sure that Luffy had him pegged from the start and the secret he’d been keeping from even Zeff was out in the open. Something about those big brown eyes scrutinizing every inch of his soul seemed to reveal everything about himself. 

 

He remembered one night, the kid got hungry and demanded he make snacks. It was three in the morning and Sanji couldn’t sleep anyways. As Luffy munched on his sandwiches, he brought up the All Blue. 

 

“Tell me about it, Sanji.” 

 

And so Sanji did.  “Ah Sencho, finding the All Blue... A place where creatures from all four seas meet and coexist. I’ve been thinking about it since I was so young”. And Sanji talked and talked. Then Luffy exclaimed suddenly, telling him that his dream was awesome and that he’d help him find it. Luffy followed by asking about the Baratie. Sanji immediately lit up and started talking about his family, because that was exactly what they were. 

 

After a while, Sanji realized that Luffy had been too quiet for too long. So, he looked back at his captain to ask if anything was wrong. Instead, he found the young D to be looking right back at him, frowning. 

 

“What?” 

 

“You don’t have to run anymore, you know? The past is the past. You have a place here, with us.” He said, in a tone that was so incredibly genuine and sincere Sanji thought he was hallucinating. And he didn’t know how Luffy knew, how Luffy hit right on the nail. Sanji was so surprised he just stuttered for a couple of seconds. But, only until he said those words did Sanji realize he had said exactly what he needed to hear. 

 

Luffy smiled his classic wide, toothy grin, all traces of severity gone and patted Sanji on the head. “Shishishishi, Sanji looks funny. I’m gonna go see Zoro now.” 

 

Sanji sat there, staring at the receding embers of fire at the tip of the cigarette hanging off his deft fingers. He didn’t even notice the stray tear that found it’s way down his cheek over the pounding of his heart and the sensation that was  _ acceptance _ .

 

Yes, he chose the right place to be. 

  
  


The memory simmered over him like a thin fog… here they were, reunited after two long years apart, training until they couldn’t see straight just to be prepared for what’s coming. 

 

As Sanji finished up cleaning the galley, Sanji goes back to his musing. Luffy’s knack for humanity and its interactions was especially apparent with the dumb marimo. He’d been around them long enough to observe quietly. Even after two years apart, the crew gathered together and they had easily fallen back into familiar patterns. Including those two. Yet, Luffy was different. He was still youthful and filled to the brim with energy. But, there was something about him that was more mature… more experienced. Sanji wasn’t surprised knowing what happened at Marine Ford. Losing his brother like that… He couldn’t imagine feeling the life bleed out of a loved one. And he knew Luffy was different, mentally, his mind morphed into something a little wearier and frayed at the edges, yet he still contained that thirst for adventure and recklessness. 

 

He saw it in the ways he would hug his crew members a little harder and how he made a real effort when spending time with each of them. He’d go up to Nami’s map room to flicker through the maps she had drawn overtime, closing in on her dream to draw a map of the world.  How he’d actually sit and listen to Chopper’s instructions when he got injured. How sometimes, Sanji could see in the corner of his eye, Luffy closing his eyes to savour his food instead of just of swallowing it down whole. 

 

The poor guy kept his cool when they separated on Fish-Man Island, but the two years without his family had been too fresh, too raw, and the separation hit too close to home. Luffy kept up his usual cheer, but Sanji knew better. But, saying anything was ill-advised and they just did the best they could to get them to reunite. 

 

Some days, he’ll be serving lovely Nami and Robin a drink near her mikan trees, and the moss head would be napping near the figurehead, arm cushioning the back of his head. Luffy would come around, practically jumping out of his skin from whatever he and Usopp were doing. 

 

At these times, Luffy would do one of two things. Bother Sanji for food, or bother Zoro for fun.  The rubber man bounced his way towards Zoro until he halted and took a quick glance at the swordsman. 

 

He paused and then turned his attention towards Sanji, pestering him for some snacks. 

“Oi oi, you damn rubber glutton, we just ate lunch!” 

 

“Awee, come on Sanjiiii. I’m soooo hungry I’m going to die.” In the corner of his eye could see the corner of the marimo’s mouth twitch. 

 

“No, you’re not. I’ll make you something in two hours. When it’s snack time.” Sanji groused. 

 

Luffy pouted and left dramatically to wherever Usopp was. 

 

As he walked back into the galley he wondered what the hell that was. Luffy was just about to pester Zoro to death, and Zoro would just give his custom bored glare. Although, everyone knew that he secretly enjoyed his antics. 

 

But, Luffy took a single glance at the swordsman, looked for clues apparently, and backed off immediately. 

 

_ What had just happened? _

 

The oddest thing was, he’d seen the moss head to it too. Which was frankly ridiculous, the green-headed idiot didn’t have any taste for the finer things in life and cared even less for other people’s boundaries unless they screwed with his. But, he saw this wordless interaction between the Captain and first mate enough times to know that this was something strictly between those two. Luffy listened to his crew, of course, he did, he was a fantastic Captain. But, his First Mate always had a little bit more of a say in most situations. 

 

Later on that week, the sun was setting on the sea, deep orange tones bathed the deck in warmth and nostalgia,  a gentle breeze flowed through the deck, filling up his nostrils with the scent of the salty sea.

 

Luffy sat on the familiar figurehead, the light of the sun illuminating his body and leaving a sliver of a shadow on the pure green grass below.  He slowly raised his hand in a gesture that was almost reverent, settling it on the top of his hat to keep it from flying away. The young man sat towards the infinite expanse of the horizon, eyes far far away, and maybe, Sanji mused, so were his thoughts. 

 

Sanji had already cleaned the galley for the night and already double checked the inventory, to assure that his crew would be well fed until the next time they could re-stock on an island. He was leisurely smoking a cigarette,  leaning against the side railing of the top deck enjoying the heat of the resting sun. 

 

This was one of his favourite spots on the entire ship, other than the galley of course. Every time the sun would set, he would stand here and take long drags of his cigarette and feel the nicotine course through his veins and overwhelm his senses. He also favoured this part of the ship because it allowed a 360 view of the Sunny. It was a spot that almost resembled the crow’s nest visibility,  just on the upper deck. From here, he could easily observe his crew members going about their nightly routines. Robin-chwan reading her horror books with her beautifully elongated legs laying on the sunbed and lovely Nami-swan tending to her mikan trees, orange hair flowing through the breese. 

 

A little further to the side Usopp was telling Chopper yet another ridiculously recounted story about him defeating a sea king during his two years on his beetle island. And Zoro, who wasn’t lifting his weights as per usual up in the crow’s nest, instead he was practicing his traditional kata positions with Wado Ichimonji in hand on the front deck, right behind where his captain was sitting on the Sunny’s figurehead. His movements were fluid and elegant with a finesse Sanji wished the marimo had when it came to everything else he did in life. 

 

(But, Sanji knew it was a little too much to ask for.)

 

He watched as Zoro swiftly went over every position deftly and with intensity. The actions were languid and dragged out with control so powerful, he bet that nothing was a millimetre out of place. The marimo repeated the same kata positions over and over until it almost seemed like he was a mirage. Yet, the green haired swordsman seemed a little distracted. 

 

Of course, Sanji knew it’d be an insult towards the idiot if he even hinted that the man carelessly wielded his precious swords from left to right; Sanj wouldn’t go  _ that  _ far. There was a certain respect for one another that went both ways, it was an unspoken agreement, but Zoro would never go for his hands or intentional try and harm them. But, Sanji has known him long enough and he could see by the tilt of his head and the perk of his ears (Ivanko-sama was quite in depth with their body language classes) that he really was paying attention to something else. Specifically to the something else behind him. 

 

The young Captain still had his hand resting on the top of his golden straw hat. Sanji glanced at his watch and determined that his captain had been sitting up there for about fifteen minutes. These days, moments like these were to be expected. It happened, once every few weeks.

 

Before… Before Sabaody, Luffy would never have been able to sit still with his own thoughts for that long, that frequently. Of course, it happened occasionally, after Thriller Bark and Water 7. But now, it seemed almost like a meditative process. (Sanji never thought he would say such words when it came to  _ Luffy _ , but here he was.) Sanji had noticed things about his nakama that had changed… attitudes that had shifted.

 

Robin-chwan smiled more, much to his faltering heart, and he could tell that whatever used to weigh on her in the past didn’t control her as much now.

 

Chopper, the poor kid, was much stronger and much more confident in his abilities as a doctor and as a crew member, but every time the crew threatened to separate, or if he was left alone for a little too long, the little guy would flinch and retreat into himself a little more. 

 

Usopp and Nami both strengthened their abilities tremendously, they’ve evolved in more ways than one. Even if Usopp still had his hilarious bouts of cowardice. Sanji was so proud of them. 

 

The marimo… was a little different. He’s heard the man say he doesn’t live with any regrets. But, Sanji noticed these looks the swordsman gave his captain every once in a while. As if he’s telling his captain he’s the one who should’ve been there that day. ( You know the one)  Now, even Sanji knows it wasn’t Zoro’s fault. In fact, he was pretty convinced that even if he had been there, it wouldn’t have served Luffy all that much. The outcome would have been the same. And he can see that Zoro knows that, he does, despite him being the directionless marimo of the crew,  Zoro excelled at living his life pragmatically, rationally, while maintaining a certain amount of recklessness that could easily match their captain’s. After their two year hiatus, the swordsman seemed as layback as ever, napping away like a cat in the sun, but whenever a situation arose that demanded the crew to be on their A-game, the swordsman became fearlessly protective of their nakama. Sanji wasn’t saying he never was, he saw it way back then in Arlong Park as Zoro was ready to slice up the entire world to defend his captain and Nami. 

 

Sanji would never ( **_never_ ** ) admit this out loud, but he was glad Zoro was the way he was. He was glad that they had gone through so much to be able to serve and protect their nakama accordingly, through the Grand Line or the New World or anything the universe threw at them.

 

So, Zoro was still the calm, steady presence he always was. But now, he was simply the one who’d keep them all from dying. Luffy, as a captain, would always take on the big guy. He’d never allow any of his crewmates to get anywhere near the source of all their troubles before he got a taste first. With his attention turned towards the enemy, Luffy couldn’t always be there to protect the rest of his nakama. That’s where the swordsman came in, Luffy entrusts Zoro with that task. He knows that his nakama are strong and will defend each other valiantly, but Luffy goes into each battle with a lighter conscious knowing that his crew has his First Mate watching over them. 

 

Sanji rubs at the soft tissue of the arch of his thumb. His skill relies on the tendons, the nerves, the sinew of muscle that live right under the patch of pale skin.  Leaning against the railing, he watches Captain and First Mate supporting each other wordlessly, seamlessly and effortlessly. The duo complimenting each other like two peas in a pod. Sanji inhaled a long drag of his cigarette, only realizing now that he had already reached the stub. 

 

He crushed the tip onto the railing and wiped away the ashes. He took one final look at the swordsmen, only to be met with a nudge of the marimo’s Haki. His will insistent, strong… unforgiving. 

 

A silent acknowledgment, him saying  _ I know you’re there, and I know why you’re looking. Now, get lost. _

 

And for once, Sanji wasn’t offended or the slightest bit irritated. The others knew not to interfere when the Captain and First Mate got like this. 

 

He turned around, feeling the cool fresh air of the night skim his cheek and exposed collarbone. 

 

He pushes back with a bit of Haki of his own to signal his departure and leaned into the comforting will of his Captain, strong, effervescent in the vast expanse of the ocean.

 

Yes indeed, he had chosen the right place to be. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, put it down there:))) I love comments. If you guys would like a sequel of one to two chapter, probably one from Luffy's perspective and the other one from Zoro's, comment down below if you're interested!!!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading !


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